Official Review: The Child by James Cates

[LivreAmour217]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Child" by James Cates.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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James Cates' The Child tells the story of Johnny, the son of a hardened criminal who abused him throughout his childhood. Now a young man, Johnny seems destined to follow in his father's footsteps, until he meets Betty, a girl his age with an unwavering faith in Jesus Christ. Through Betty, Johnny becomes a Christian, but his ties with the criminal world are not so easily severed. People from Johnny's past are unwilling to let him forget his roots, and Johnny must trust God as he struggles to protect Betty and his friends from a notorious group of criminals.

The message of this novel is that anyone can receive redemption through Christ, regardless of background or upbringing. As a Christian, I commend the author for his efforts, and I respect the overall concept of the story. However, there are some major problems with this book.

Foremost, the writing lacks description. The author does not provide physical descriptions for any of the characters, nor are they even given last names. The setting is also largely devoid of physical description, and the small town in which the events unfold is not given a name or a specific location (although it can be assumed to take place somewhere in the United States). Furthermore, the multiple action scenes were very difficult to follow due to the lack of detail, and the characters were flat and lifeless.

I also took issue with the dialogue, which was very stilted and formal. I found this difficult to accept, as many of the characters in the book are current or former violent criminals, and I just can't picture such a rough bunch of people speaking so formally. I also noticed that the dialogue was virtually free of contractions, which are normally used quite heavily in spoken English. Overall, the feeling of the dialogue was just unnatural.

I was also surprised at how much violence is depicted in this Christian novel. There is talk of murder, rape, and other forms of physical abuse throughout the book. Most of the characters do have a criminal past, but this is supposed to be a book about redemption, and I wish that there had been more emphasis on Johnny's conversion, and perhaps on the backstories of the other ex-criminals as well. Instead, there was so much time given to the antagonists and how they planned to get back at Johnny, Betty, and their friends.

Finally, the book is also in need of editing. There were multiple errors in regard to grammar and punctuation, as well as a few omitted words. But the most glaring error was the fact that pronouns referring to God were not capitalized. For Christians, all pronouns that refer to the Father, Son, or Holy Spirit should be capitalized (i.e. He, His, Him). This mistake wasn't just in a few places--it was throughout the book, which really surprised me.

While I respect the author and his efforts, and sincerely believe that the concept of the book is a noble one, I cannot give this book a rating any higher than 2 out of 4 stars. In its current state, there are simply too many problems with the writing for me to recommend this story to anyone.

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The Child
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Like LivreAmour217's review? Post a comment saying so!

[gali]

Great review! Too bad the book wasn't polished enough. Regardless, the book isn't my cup of tea.

[bookowlie]

Excellent, insightful review. You made very good points about the sparse descriptions and unrealistic dialogue. Well done.

[LivreAmour217]

Thank you Gali and Bookowlie! The positive feedback is appreciated!

[Tanaya]

I really appreciated how specific and constructive you were with your criticisms in this review. Hopefully, the author will take these matters into careful consideration. I really like the premise of the book.

[LivreAmour217]

I really appreciated how specific and constructive you were with your criticisms in this review. Hopefully, the author will take these matters into careful consideration. I really like the premise of the book.

Thank you very much! I also hope that the author will take my critique into consideration. The premise really does have potential.

[kimmyschemy06]

That was a very honest review. The book has an interesting premise but the writing seems to be wanting.

[LivreAmour217]

That was a very honest review. The book has an interesting premise but the writing seems to be wanting.

Yes, that is exactly it! Thanks for reading my review!

[bluemel4]

Very well done review. You provided the author with a lot of constructive criticism while taking into account the positive aspects of the book. Great job.

[rssllue]

Very good review! The points that you brought up would have been quite the problem for me too as I read the book as well. The pronoun issue is especially one that always bothers me when I see them not get the respect of the capitalization that the Lord deserves when speaking of Him. Great job, LivreAmour217!

[LivreAmour217]

Very well done review. You provided the author with a lot of constructive criticism while taking into account the positive aspects of the book. Great job.

Thank you! I tried very hard to include the book's positive points in my review.

-- 28 Nov 2015, 11:09 --

Very good review! The points that you brought up would have been quite the problem for me too as I read the book as well. The pronoun issue is especially one that always bothers me when I see them not get the respect of the capitalization that the Lord deserves when speaking of Him. Great job, LivreAmour217!

Thank you for reading my review! Yes, it drives me nuts when believers fail to give this simple form of respect to the Lord!